This month we look at the work of "Operaestrema", Aaron Carpenè and Stefano Vizioli who have taken Handel to Bhutan, Monteverdi to Japan and Mozart to Cambodia - operatic performances that have defied all the odds by creating a fusion of culturally diverse musical, dance and theatrical traditions; Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College, London looks at the life of Zhou Youguang, the architect of China's literacy revolution who maintained an open-minded curiosity well into his second century; Mitja Stefancic, foretells the disaster that is about to strike Italian banks; Lev Myshkin reviews Lewis Lapham's new book "Age of Folly" and much more...

Handel in Bhutan, Monteverdi in Japan, Mozart in Cambodia...operatic performances that have defied all the odds by creating a fusion of culturally diverse musical, dance and theatrical traditions. JapanOrfeo was the latest project at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura, conceived by Aaron Carpenè and Stefano Vizioli.

A review of Lewis Lapham's collection of essays tracing the decline in American democracy since 1990 to the present day. It is a vital read from a great literary stylist, humanist and old-school scholar. There is wit, intelligence and a grasp of essentials on every page.

In 1906 Geronimo published his autobiography recounting the fascinating story of his life, from his years as a resistance fighter, to his capture and subsequent period of celebrity in which he appeared at the 1904 St Louis World Fair and met President Roosevelt.

Son House, the epitome of the Delta blues man, wavered all his life between doing the Lord's work as a minister and playing the devil's music. “Oh and I had religion Lord this very day. But the womens and the whiskey, well they would not let me pray.”